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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Not getting enough exercise?

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    • Ellie&Alexa
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        I have 2 Flemies. Ellie and Alexa. They are 10 months old around 16 lbs. I have one huge bedroom for them both with a lot of activities made out of cardboard. I am affaid they aren’t getting enough exercise because all the floors are hardwood and slippery for them to hop on. they are slowly learning but they don’t go far. when I have them in the family room, I put them on a yoga mat and they just lay down because they give up going off the mat. They put their paws on the wood then backs up back onto the mat. I tried to get them walking on it ..I took away the mat and they didn’t like it, they jumped up on the couch. I don’t want them breaking a hip or something. What can I do. their bedroom is all a foam puzzle connecting mat because it was hardwood floors. I don’t want them having sore hocks. please help. I want them to roam when I get off work to get exercise ..they just want to lay down. I keep them in their room while at work so they don’t get into stuff. please help.

        Thanks,

        Heather


      • skysblue
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          My rabbit has a hardwood floored cage and she roams free in our house which is also mostly hardwood. If she wishes she also can go upstairs which is fully carpeted. She’s been running and binkying everywhere just fine. Paws are healthy.

          Your rabbits might have backed up from the hardwood because they are not familiar to the new surrounding or feelings. Take some of the mat out from the bunny room so they can explore and give them time to learn. Sometimes they are not as fragile as we might think.


        • Ellie&Alexa
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            I just heard that they can break their bones really easily. What is binkying? I don’t think I have seen them do that but I have heard a lot about that. They are curious bunnies and they slide on the floor. I took them out in the family room and removed the yoga mat and they didn’t like the feel of the floor and back legs spreading. that isn’t good for their hips. I didn’t think our floors were that slippery lol


          • Azerane
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              Some rabbits are scared of hardwood/slippery floors, for a good reason. It scares them that they can’t get traction and it doesn’t feel secure to them. Other rabbits feel completely at ease. Some rabbits can learn to be ok, others not so much. You can try putting area rugs down, or small mats. Some rabbits are ok taking a hop or two on slippery floors if they know they have an “island” to get to. This means that you can place mats down where you would like your rabbits to be able to go and they will move around those areas, but it’s very easy to also keep them from places you don’t want them since they’re too scared to go there

              Slippery floors can be bad for very young growing rabbits, if they can never hold their feet correctly and they constantly slip they can end up with splayed legs. The other reason they can be dangerous is when jumping. Sometimes their feet slip out from under them when they try to jump and end up jumping poorly and may hit something. This happened to Bandit a couple of times but he was never injured by it. The main concern with slippery floors is that if bunnies suddenly get scared and they go to bolt away, they can’t slow themselves down on the slippery floor or turn corners well so they may run into furniture or walls at high speed which can cause injury (broken bones or ruptured organs). Bandit used to zoom around (having fun) on the rugs and would race off the end only to not be able to stop and he would just slide into the dining chair legs, never hurt himself though.

              A binky is a happy jump done by a rabbit. It usually involves twisting or kicking out the back legs, or shaking the head in a silly motion while doing a quick hop or bounce. If you search for ‘rabbit binky’ on youtube you’ll get a lots of results

              Also, foam puzzle mats should do a great job at preventing sore hocks, since they have a nice cushion to them


            • Vienna Blue in France
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                Mine has access in kitchen and outdoors. Outdoors is a tiled patio area, Inside is tiled. Outside she is fine running and boinging, Inside she hesitates, slippy slippy.

                So I’ve bought a second hand carpet mat (about 7ft by 3ft) which is hers (so OK to chew, though it’s not OK really!!!) and it’s quite good because she stays all the time there and doesn’t really venture further into non bunny proofed area….
                She’s very funny beacuse she goes right to the edge of the mat… ventures further with her front paws on to slippery surface, stretching all the way, all the time keeping back paws ON the carpet…. it’s like she’s playing netball and has to keep at least one foot in one place without actually moving it…

                Actually, I reckon, maybe, WEIGHT has something to do with it… the lighter the rabbit the easier it is to hop on slippery surfaces. Less weight to displace.
                A heavy rabbit (like mine and yours) will have harder time finding a grip on their paws equal to the pressure of the weight of the body above…
                (I’m not a scientist or mathematicien, but maybe there’s some sense to the above sentences….. LOL)


              • Ellie&Alexa
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                  Is it normal to have glosdy pool after their spay yesterday and not wanting to eat their favorite vegetables?


                • Ellie&Alexa
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                  • Ellie&Alexa
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                      aren’t they so cute? Y is it that I can post pics in the thread but not as a profile pic?


                    • MiNinoJack
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                        Hi,

                        The group I rescued my bunny from did not recommend foam mats as they can be toxic for the buns if they chew. There are cheap area rugs online. I bet if you put one in there they will start running and binkying like crazy. Also my vet recommended no hardwood ever as it can cause major problems since they do not have pads on their claws to grip.

                        They are super cute!

                        Good luck.


                      • Vienna Blue in France
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                          OK you beat me – they’re bigger then mine !! LOL

                          And your floor does look very nice and shiny…. I think i’d slip on it in socks !!
                          Carpet is fine but mine likes chewing the edge of my carpet mat…. I’m there to stop her
                          At Christmas she was in a run which was inside the perimeter of the same mat (so no edges accessible) and she didn’t once try to get at it!
                          But wall to wall carpet is fine…. (a cheap cut off from a carpet shop? on eBay….?)
                          Mine binkies away on it when she comes in !


                        • Ellie&Alexa
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                            what does binkying look like?? and I think they’d pee on the carpet because they did that with the blankets I had in their room before I got the mats and when we bought them, we looked and they said they are NON TOXIC. but as for the floors, yea it is slippery but when Ellie tried to walk on the floor. she did really good and it was only for a short time so they shouldn’t get sore hocks from only walking for a little bit. 15 min about. and she mainly stood still and hoped only a little bit. She wasn’t even spreading her legs. she hoped perfectly but they don’t go on the hard wood willingly LOL idk about rugs yet. that foam puzzle pieces were $120, I’d hate to take them out. they only nibble a little bit, I think they are understanding that that is a NO NO because I havn’t seen it in a couple days.


                          • skysblue
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                              binky in slow motion:
                              https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/144512/Default.aspx

                              Different people have different opinions, and different rabbits have different habits; I believe rabbits are animals who are highly adaptive to their surroundings. Looks like your rabbits are in the process of learning, which is good. Hardwood, carpet or what not, monitor it carefully to prevent any accidents.


                            • Vienna Blue in France
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                                My rabbit too thinks that a fleece is a litter tray but a (flat) carpet, not so !! Never weed on it !
                                I think they know by instinct (hard underneath = don’t wee, soft and comfy and ‘mangable’ = wee) LOL
                                You could try first with a second hand rug like I did (not expensive and so no tears if they wee (unlikely) or chew it (highly likely !!) )
                                I bought mine from an old lady’s house sale. 5 euros for a rectangular rug 3ftx6ft
                                My Dad cried when he saw I’d bought it for the rabbit (!), because I think its a very good quality wool rug (toooo good for rabbit!! LOL) but at only 5eur, I don’t really care !! LOL (AND it looks nice in the kitchen too !!) :p


                              • Ellie&Alexa
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                                  I have a lot of cardboard over the foam puzzle pieces. They only tear up a little bit then get bored and chew on their blocks (like they are supposed to ) LOL
                                  I moved arount their litter boxes and there is less poop on the floor and NO PEE!! YAY So I hope that worked and I didn’t put any hay in their house. only cardboard under the cardboard house. And a bunch of crinkly cardboard paper and Paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls so they can jump in and play or do whatever. since I removed the hay. there is NO PEE on the floor of the house . only a little poop pellets LOL Which is OK I guess. And now they have more room to run because I moved everything up against the walls .


                                • Vienna Blue in France
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                                    Absolutely yes, my bunny’s open condo has 3 levels – 2nd floor is ‘bathroom’ and top floor is bedroom.
                                    I started putting straw up top to give her the choice to stay warm if she wants to and straight away she started weeing… so no more hay or straw up there (she stopped immediately)… i’ve put a couple of carpet squares up there so she’s got something cosy for her tootsies rather than the wooden bottom of hutch !!! LOL

                                    Maybe a sensation of softness around the back paw area means wee wee time…. who knows ?! Each rabbit is different and the thing is just to understans one’s own….


                                  • Ellie&Alexa
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                                      Your bunny has a condo? LOL How cute. do you have a Giant Flemish? and how lage is your bunny’s space? Last night I had them practice walking on the hard wood floors in my living room. Ellie did great for about 5 min. And Alexa stayed on the cardboard that I brought into the living room to stay on while I watched a show. and I cuddled with them on the floor Lol. They love cuddle time. I don’t want them hoping too much on the wood bc I’m sure it doesn’t feel good on their feet but their room is large enough for them to run and play. our spare bedroom.


                                    • Vienna Blue in France
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                                        I have a Vienna Blue. She is 6kg, so a big bunny but not on the same scale as a Flemie at all !!
                                        Her ‘condo’ is outside on the patio which is joined to the kitchen, which she is in whenever I’m home….
                                        There are photos somewhere on here of the set up… but I got a old fashioned wood sideboard top off the street that someone was throwing out. Took the doors off. Put that on a low coffee table and put a hutch on top of the sideboard, cutting an access through from top of sideboard to bottom of hutch as of course the hutch cage door is closed (too high to jump from)
                                        So she goes under the coffee table (meal bowl on a wooden plank i fitted!) and up onto the coffee table, then into the sideboard (green litter tray which you can just see in the avatar photo) then jumps on a box which I keep her hay in to get up through the hole into her bedroom (the hutch!)
                                        She has full roam of the patio area, all day. There are no predators here. The only cats that pass by on the garden wall are smaller than her !! LOL
                                        In the summer I put a cat flap inbetween the patio doors which i’ve taught her to jump through.
                                        Seems a bit complex but it all works fine !! LOL
                                        This could easily be done indoors too as the furniture is all household furniture anyway!! And gives her something else to do, going up and down her house !!

                                        I’m 100% for the rabbits, but….. I would worry about their claws ruining the polished wooden floor !!!! LOL


                                      • Ellie&Alexa
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                                          That is so cool. I need to look over my floors and see if there are any scratches. I just got their nails trimmed. and they are so small, I don’t think it scratches. I have to get on my stomach and look at the floor LOL

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                                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Not getting enough exercise?